[nfbmi-talk] nfb files suit in l.a.

Fri Apr 4 19:16:42 UTC 2014

This is a good step forward by the NFB.  Seems as though many employed to
serve the blind don't care, and only respond to legal action and paying
attorney fees.

Actually, this sounds so much like the BS4BP and the BEP, whereby vending
cash and credit card systems are TOTALLY INACCESSIBLE to the blind, and
require use of a sighted person to manage the cash in a vending facility,
allegedly reserved for operation by a blind person!  Imagine a sighted
person controlling your business cash system!  Must be the justification by
Rob Essenberg, now a BS4BP BADP director, and former blind vendor, for
boosting his sighted manager's wage from $15 to $20 per hour, upon his
departure from a BEP TOTALLY INACCESSIBLE vending facility operation.
Ironically, that sighted manager is now once again working, as a state
employee,  for none other than Rob Essenberg in BADP.  What does that say
about how state employment is obtained?  The state employment hiring plot is
thicker than this with regard to Essenberg and BS4Bp.  What does it say
about the skills of blindness by certain blind BS4BP employees?  

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
harcz Comcast
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2014 12:18 PM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] nfb files suit in l.a.

National Federation of the Blind and Four Blind People File Suit Against
RideCharge, Inc. and Three Taxicab Companies in California

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/--

The National Federation of the Blind

(NFB), the oldest and largest organization of blind people in the United
States, and four blind people residing in California-Rick Boggs, Geraldine
Croom,

Rochelle Houston, and Tina Thomas -filed suit today (case number:
2:14-cv-02490) in the United States District Court for the Central District
of California

against RideCharge, Inc. and three entities that manage taxicab fleets in
Southern California:  Administrative Services Cooperative, Inc., LA Taxi
Cooperative,

Inc., and South Bay Yellow Cab Cooperative, Inc.  The taxicab cooperatives
have deployed RideCharge's self-service, touchscreen payment terminals,
which

are inaccessible to blind taxicab riders, in taxicabs throughout Southern
California.  The complaint alleges violations of the Americans with
Disabilities

Act (ADA), the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California
Disabled Persons Act.

The self-service terminals utilize an entirely visual, touchscreen interface
mounted on the back of the front passenger seat that allows sighted taxicab

riders to access information and services privately and independently.
Among other features, sighted passengers are able to review trip and fare
information,

privately pay fares with a credit card, and select tip amounts without
interacting with the driver. The exclusively visual interface lacks common
accessibility

features for blind riders.  Many other transportation service providers have
installed text-to-speech output and tactile controls on their self-service

terminals that allow blind riders to operate them independently.  As a
result of RideCharge's failure to include these common alternative access
features

on its terminals, blind riders are unable to access the information and
services offered on these devices.

Dr. Marc Maurer,

President of

the National Federation of the Blind,

said: "The ability to travel safely and independently is central to the
ability of blind people to live independent, productive lives.  Taxis are a
valuable

mode of transportation for blind people, particularly in places like
Southern California where public transit is not always available.  Our right
to independent

travel is unjustly jeopardized when we enter a taxi that has critical
features that cannot be independently accessed by the blind.  The laws of
the United

States and the state of California require, and blind Americans demand, that
RideCharge and taxicab companies make all of their self-service terminals

accessible to blind taxi riders."

The National Federation of the Blind and the individual plaintiffs are
represented in this matter by Laurence Paradis, Stuart Seaborn, Michael
Nunez, and

Haben Girma of the Berkeley firm Disability Rights Advocates; Scott LaBarre
of the Denver firm LaBarre Law Offices; and Timothy Elder of the Fremont,
California

firm

TRE Legal Practice.

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest, largest, and most
influential nationwide membership organization of blind people in the United

States.  Founded in 1940, the NFB advocates for the civil rights and
equality of blind Americans, and develops innovative education, technology,
and training

programs to provide the blind and those who are losing vision with the tools
they need to become independent and successful.

Logo -

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120815/MM57966LOGO

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